Photo: Sometimes you get rained on even when you try to take cover.After spending many, many hours researching breast cancer and my actual diagnosis of DCIS (ductual carcinoma in situ) I feel that I am coming to a decision on how to precede.
I have been reading many medical research articles from http://www.pubmed.gov/. This is also known as Medline, and is the clearing house for nearly every major medical journal's research studies.
I found three articles that have greatly influenced my thinking :
http://jco.ascopubs.org/cgi/content/full/24/21/3381
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?Db=pubmed&Cmd=ShowDetailView&TermToSearch=17687650&ordinalpos=1&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVAbstractPlus
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?Db=pubmed&Cmd=ShowDetailView&TermToSearch=15026697&ordinalpos=1&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVAbstractPlus
They just happen to all be research that was conducted in Europe, the first one being a multi-country clinical trial.
One of the main things I learned is that there are a lot of unknowns regarding cancer and how to treat it most effectively. That is why the therapy used today is so radical - it seems that the best way they know how to treat cancer is to just blast it away with surgery, radiation and chemicals.
The journey I have undertaken to heal myself requires me to thoroughly understand every available option out there. As I said, if I knew absolutely that I could cure myself with Alternative treatments alone - I would! I know they can work, but I feel that I may not be proficient enough in their application. So, a combination of Western and Alternative is my holistic healing path to excellent health :)
The specifics of my diagnosis are:
1. I'm relatively young to have DCIS.
2. The cancer cells reacted to hormones estrogen and progesterone (ER and PR receptor positive).
3. The cancer cells were intermediate or grade 2 (how fast they are growing)
4.The area biopsied was right behind the nipple - this is a more active area of lymph and blood flow.
5. The third medical article raised concerns in regard to cancer cells moving elsewhere after a biopsy disturbs an area of the breast.
The information from the links above translates something like:
1. Younger women have a much higher recurrence of BC. The 2nd study had statistics of 31% recurrence with surgery only; 13% surgery and radiation; 2% for complete mastectomy. This covered all the age ranges. The younger women in the 2nd study had a higher recurrence ratio.
The 1st study also had a higher recurrence for younger women. Statistics in different studies do vary somewhat. But the above statistics give you an idea of the different percentages. Five year survival rates are the same but.... do you want to deal with additional treatment?!!
2. I am a number of years away from menopause. So I still have a a lengthy stretch of time for my hormones to interact with any cancer cells that might be floating around! These hormones can act as a sort of fertilizer to these errant cells.
3. The cells on the pathology report were the medium growing sort, not the slow growing kind :(
4. The nipple can also be a more "lively" area for things to move around and be taken yonder. (That could also be another way to to describe a nipple ;)
5. They cut into it!! The area was mega disturbed. Who knows what that means. Like I said, they are still learning about this cancer thing.
Do I need my breast(s). No. Not a vital organ (though, as one person said, you would think that this society thinks it is!) I love them, but I'm not defined by them.
So many unknowns. But, I think I have enough information to make an informed judgement and decision. I want to live without worrying about recurrence of cancer, or maybe even "playing" with my life!
Lose my breast but keep my life.
